Loki - The Last Trace
by LabyrinthOfAsgard
Summary: Loki comes back to Earth (or Midgard, take your pick) to try to harness residual energy left behind by the Tesseract. Takes place between The Avengers and Thor; The Dark World. Rated T for some violence and the fact that I'm paranoid.
1. The Would-Be King

**This is my first fan fiction so I apologize if it's a little short! I try my best c: Please note that I do not own any of the characters involved in Thor or the Avengers, including, but not limited to, Loki, Thor, and Heimdall. If I did I would not be here, I would be making another awesome movie!**

The clouds cleared to show a dark night sky as a shadowy figure emerged from the dust. He glanced around at his surroundings, and a pleased grin stretched across his face. It had been long since he had seen the Earth. Too long. After all, it had been so easy to hide himself in an illusion and sneak away from his guards. If they looked upon his jail cell now, they would see him there, same as always. It would be a great advantage if they thought he was still under their control. Much easier to avoid being hunted down by those whom he had once called family.

He clutched a weapon in his hands, a scepter. Its tip was sharp enough to cut through iron as if it were butter, and it raced with a glowing blue energy. His captors had left it in his sight, to mock him, he supposed. If they glanced at where it should stand, they would see it there as if nothing had ever happened to it. No one could ever know of his absence. He was safe, for the moment.

He walked for a bit before he came upon a city that he did not know. If he had not been in such a hurry, he would have been sure that the bifrost would take him exactly where he needed to go - New York. For in New York was a very powerful substance. Residue left from a powerful item known as the Tesseract. The Tesseract was in his brother's hands now, under such high surveillance that it would be impossible to retrieve. The residue left by it was too subtle for any mortal to detect, but even so, it alone could supply the entire planet of Earth with energy for over a decade. However, he had greater plans for it.

If he were to harness that power, he could use it to create weapons that would win him Asgard. At last, he would not be living in the shadow of his idiotic brother. Finally, the people of Asgard would kneel before him as they should. They would kneel before Loki, rightful king of Asgard. In the end, they would all kneel...

'But not yet,' he reminded himself. Fantasies of ruling would not place a crown above his head. There was one small matter that stood in the way of the throne - locating the residue. And after that, there would be a larger one, but he decided to worry about that when he got there.

The city seemed unfamiliar, but he was not quite sure that he had not been here before. Time for these mortals seemed to be quite fast; a city could be built on Earth in what seemed like a day on Asgard. The lives of these mortals seemed to pass so quickly. He did not feel that he had lived very long, but for these mortals, many generations had passed. He was somewhere around 1,050 years old (he could not be bothered with counting years). However, in the years the creatures of this planet use to measure their own lives, he would be somewhere around 17. He did not care enough to discover his exact "age" in the years of such a lesser race.

There were few mortals on the streets at such a late hour, but the ones Loki did see stared at him. He began to wonder if he should create an illusion of wearing mortal clothes. They must think him weird to be dressed as he was. 'Let them wonder.' He thought. 'They are beneath me.'

He still was unsure of where he was. He did not feel like asking for help from one of the creatures of this planet, but he must find someway to get to New York. When the next mortal passed him, Loki grabbed his arm and placed his scepter to the man's throat. "How far is New York from here?!" He asked. The mortal's eyes widened and he made a choking sound. "HOW FAR?!"

"It's- It's on the other side of the country!" Replied the mortal in a fearful tone. Loki glared at the mortal in disappointment.

"WHERE AM I?!"

"Ca- California."

Loki slit the mans throat and left him on the sidewalk to die. The mortal had served its purpose and now was of no use. Perhaps the man would be lucky and the others would be able to save him with their feeble mortal medicine. Loki suspected not. He did not bother himself with the matter.

Suddenly lightning flashed through the sky, and a boom of thunder shattered the stillness on the night. A sense of dread filled Loki as he realized his mistake. This might cost him everything. Any chance of securing the residual energy of the Tesseract would be lost if Thor, his brother, the "all mighty" god of thunder, found him. Loki had no choice. He began to run.

**Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed! I'll work on making chapters longer! I'd love reviews, if you wouldn't mind c; Also, I'm not sure how often I should update, so please feel free to leave your suggestions for a schedule! Expect another chapter in the next few days!**


	2. Thor

**Hi guys c: I decided that this story will be updated on Fridays and Mondays, so here's the Friday update. This one is a good bit longer than the first. Once again I do NOT own any of the characters from The Avengers! **

How could he have allowed himself to make such a trivial mistake? Upon his arrival on Earth he had considered himself safe from the watching eyes of those on Asgard, but he had forgotten about Heimdall. Heimdall, the gatekeeper of Asgard, saw all that took place in the Nine Realms. He could be tricked by one of Loki's illusions, but it had completely slipped Loki's mind to continue with his disguise on Earth. And now he would pay for his mistake. He would never be king. He would spend the rest of his life in a cell in a dungeon on Asgard. He would not be able to escape. They would not make the same mistake twice.

It was not long before he realized Thor's advantage; Loki did not know his way around the city and therefore could easily become lost. Thor did not need to know where he was. He only had to follow Loki. And he was doing so at a remarkable speed.

Soon Thor was so close that Loki knew continuing to run was pointless. So he stopped. And when Thor came barreling by, all he had to do was step out of the way. Thor skidded to a halt some 20 feet ahead, and turned around only to find that Loki had disappeared. "BROTHER!" He yelled in exasperation.

Loki had taken the opportunity to hide himself in an illusion and sneak up behind Thor. He raised his scepter above Thor's head, but could not bring himself to take his brother's life. So instead, Loki whacked Thor so hard on his head that Thor crumpled on the road, unconscious. Loki walked away, cursing his blasted sentimentality.

After a while Loki sat down on a park bench. Despite his less than friendly interrogation with the mortal, he had no idea how he was going to get to New York. 'If the substance even is in New York.' He thought to himself. He was not sure how long he had been gone. In his absence, any remaining traces of the Tesseract's power may have been scattered across the planet. Or even lost to this realm forever.

"Who are you?" He heard from behind him. Loki whipped around and held up his spear defensively, cursing himself for letting someone sneak up on him. But he lowered his guard when he realized it was just a homeless man, who had been sleeping on the park bench beside his own. "And... Why do you need to get to New York?"

"Because- Wait, how did you know?" Loki asked furiously. How had this man, a mere mortal, known his plans? How could it be possible? He brandished his scepter menacingly.

"Because you said so!" The man replied indignantly. His face was that of a brave man, however, Loki could see fear in his eyes. Had he really spoken out loud? This man was harmless, but could not be allowed to continue living, now that he knew what Loki intended. Or did he?

"How much did you hear?!"

"Oh, not much, just that you needed to get to New York... and you didn't know how to get there... That's all I heard!" This time Loki could hear the man's fear penetrate his voice. All it took was a glance to know that the man was lying.

Loki advanced, preparing to run the man through his heart with his scepter. He could see the man's fear plainly in the way he tensed, as if ready to flee. As if any mortal could outrun him. Making a final play for his life, the man began to speak.

"Well, if you want to get to New York... I'd try a plane."

Loki felt quite out of place standing in line at the San Diego airport. His scepter was hidden in an illusion, but he felt it comfortingly in his grasp. He walked up to the counter at which a young woman stood. Her name tag read 'Hi, I'm Kate.' "When does the next flight leave to Manhattan?" Loki inquired.

Only pausing briefly to stare at his attire, she responded "In about... (She paused to check the computer screen in front of her) three hours. Would you like a ticket?"

"That is correct."

"That'll be... (She checked the computer screen again) 500 dollars."

Loki looked at her menacingly, and with a flick of his wrist, a dagger that had previously been concealed in his sleeve fell into his hand. The woman reached for her hand held radio device, but before she could reach it, Loki held up a hand to stop her. "You'll be dead long before security can get here."

Kate hastily printed him a ticket, which she handed him with a fearful look. Loki took it and began to walk towards the security check. "And don't bother getting security to come after me." Loki called over his shoulder. And, just for the fun of it, he made his dagger disappear while Kate watched. Let her babble to security about the man who made his weapon disappear into thin air.

He passed through security without a problem, though he did get many stares from the mortals in the airport. Once again he wondered if he should appear to wear mortal clothes. He, once again, decided against it.

As he sat down to wait for his plane, Loki wondered how long it would be before Thor regained consciousness. And after that, how long it would be until Thor found him at the airport. Thor would not at first think to look for Loki here. It was quite unusual for Loki to accept this mortal form of transportation, but that was the reason he chose it. Unpredictability was a great advantage. That was why he left Kate alive. If Loki created a commotion, Thor would immediately know where he was. Still, he was not sure he had the three hours he needed before Thor located him. Thor would not get any information from the homeless man in the park, though. Dead men cannot give away one's position.

Each time another plane's departure was announced, Loki was sure that it was his own. However, for the next three hours, it was not. But finally, when the clock on the wall read 5:45 A.M., the humans that would accompany him on his trip began to board.

As he waited to enter the airplane, he tapped his foot on the carpeted floor. A small tug on his sleeve made him turn around. It was a small girl, wearing a little pink dress. She clutched her mother's hand as she asked "Mister... Why are you dressed like that?" Her mother shushed her and walked her away, but not before Loki could look at her with such a loathing that she hid behind her mother's legs. No one else bothered him after that.

As he took his seat in the plane, a feeling of relief washed over him. He was going to New York, and Thor had not found him. Yet. He was lucky enough that the seat beside him stayed empty. This gave him time to think without the disturbance of others. He enjoyed his solitude.

As he waited for the plane to take off, Loki entertained himself by watching the mortal workers run around outside with carts full of suitcases. It was raining lightly, and he could tell that they would rather be inside. They seemed to be taking orders from one man in particular. Loki felt a stab of jealousy, but he knew that one day he would have control of a realm much greater than these petty mortals could ever dream of. Asgard.

Suddenly a male voice blared on the speakers. Loki did not bother to listen, so he was surprised when the plane began to move forwards. It came to a long runway, and then began to pick up speed. Loki sat back in his seat and relaxed. This was hardly the first time he had been in a plane. However, this was the first time he had been in a plane surrounded by ignorant mortals and flown by humans that he would not trust even to be near him.

As the plane took off into the sky that was just beginning to lighten, the rain fell down harder than before. Suddenly lightning crackled through the morning air, and dark clouds rolled in to obscure the rising sun. With another boom of thunder, Loki knew with a dreadful certainty that Thor had found him.

**Thank you for reading guys! I hope you enjoyed. It would mean a lot to me if you would review! **


	3. Reaching to the Heavens

**Hello guys! I'm so sorry this chapter is one day late. For some reason it wouldn't let me update, but the problem seems to be fixed now. Gosh, this chapter is so short it's embarrassing. I've just been so busy. I promise a longer one on Friday! By the way, I don't own any of the Avengers characters. If I did, do you think I'd be posting a fan fiction on here?**

It was then that a dreadful game of waiting ensued. Loki did not know the time and therefore time was meaningless. It was just waiting, waiting until the plane fell out of the sky. Every spot of turbulence made him sit rigid in his seat. Every slash of lightning through the sky would be the one that sent the plane tumbling to the ground. But somehow, it never was.

It never occurred to Loki that Thor would wait until they landed. So when the plane finally touched the ground in New York, he felt safe. The rain had stopped about four hours after their departure from San Diego, and Loki felt the sun warm on his face. Until the sun was blocked out by a tall figure with a large hammer.

He had just exited the airport through the glass doors in the front, and the mortals were staring again. His scepter once again became visible in his hand. "Loki! Put down the scepter and come back to Asgard!" Thor yelled, his voice sounding more like a snarl.

"For what?! So you can lock me in a cage?! So I can sit in a cell for the rest of my life?! You expect me to just come home at your command? Come back to father, who once said he cared for me, only to tell me that my entire life was naught but a lie?" Loki spat the words as if they were poison in his mouth.

"Brother-"

"I AM NOT YOUR BROTHER!" Loki shouted, a mask of anger on his face, hiding the pain he felt inside. "I never was." And with that, he swung his scepter at Thor's side. It found its target with a satisfying _thwack._ Several humans screamed.

Thor blocked the next strike with his hammer, and the next, and the next. Loki was not paying attention to where he was going, so soon they found themselves in the street. Car horns honked, but Loki paid them no mind. Soon human police were rushing towards them, holding out guns threateningly. Loki did not feel in any particular danger, as human weapons could not hurt him. Well, unless those weapons were designed after Asgardian technology, which these weapons were not.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands where I can see them!" Shouted one of the humans. When they did not, one of the guns went off, the bullet bouncing harmlessly off Loki's face. He could tell the police were scared now. They advanced slowly with their guns held out in front of them. Loki glanced at them in confusion. Hadn't they realized that they had no chance of defeating him?

In his lapse of concentration, Loki felt Mjolnir hit him hard in his chest. He flew backwards several feet, landing on the roof of a car. The mortals inside it screamed while Loki struggled to his feet. But Thor was already there, preparing to strike again.

This time Mjolnir should have struck Loki's jaw, but instead it passed straight through his face. Another illusion. This unbalanced Thor, and he fell to the ground, while Loki appeared several feet away. The mortals swarmed Thor, and held him down. Loki watched in confusion. Why was Thor not getting up? He could easily throw the humans aside and break free, but he did not.

Then Loki realized something; the reason that Thor stayed on the ground, the reason that Thor had not boarded the plane. He would not hurt the mortals. Oh, what a great advantage that would be. All he had to do was threaten Thor with the death of one of these precious humans, and he would have what he sought with no further interruption. But for the moment, he decided he'd better leave, before Thor found a way to escape the mortals without hurting them in the process. So he made himself invisible and leaped on top of the next car to pass. He was on his way to Stark Tower.

On the way Loki had to change cars a few times. If the humans inside noticed anything, they didn't say. And given the human's tendency to overreact to his presence on top of their vehicle, Loki assumed they did not notice. Several times thunder and lightning crashed through the sky and rain fell. However, the bouts of foul weather were short and few. Apparently Thor was trying to hide either his anger or his location. Or both.

Loki was so close to Stark Tower, he could feel it. He was finally walking on streets that he knew, and found himself remembering what had happened at each location. 'That's where the arrow I caught exploded!' or 'That's where the metal man almost died!' Loki noticed that most of the damage he had caused had been fixed. He wondered idly how long it had taken to clean up the destruction, and if the mortals still remembered his name.

When he turned the corner one last time, he saw the one part of the city that had not been restored to its previous state. The building still stood tall and proud, but instead of broadcasting Tony Stark's name to the entire city of Manhattan, the lone letter 'A' reached up to the heavens.

Loki walked towards the building slowly. This was where the Tesseract was last, so he decided to begin his search here. He needed to get to the roof of the building, but he was not sure how that could be accomplished. He could not fly like Thor could with Mjolnir. And he couldn't just take the elevator. Or could he?

With a _ding_ the doors opened on the top level of the building. Loki stepped out of the elevator and watched with a satisfied smile as Tony Stark froze with a cup of coffee halfway to his lips. It fell to the floor and shattered.

"JARVIS," He said hesitantly. "Deploy!"

**Thank you for reading :) It would mean so much to me if you could review! I haven't gotten any yet. Once again I'm sorry for this chapter being so small!**


	4. Update

**I just want to give an excuse for not updating this weekend or today. I was super busy, I'm so sorry. I'll see you guys Friday.**


	5. The Energy

**Guys, I know that this is super short, but do not fear, I have an excuse! I had the opportunity to see Thor; The Dark World in the theaters one more time before it was gone forever, so, of course, I took it. On another note, I am super excited because I got my first review! It means so much to me :D Thank you all so much for bearing with me as I get used to the fan fiction world! I know that this chapter may not be the quality you are used to, but I was rushing as I had limited time tonight. I have Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday) off so I can write a lengthy & good quality chapter then. I look forward to seeing you all then! Enjoy this chapter :)**

Loki remembered the metal man's tricks, so he was prepared when the red suit came shooting out of the wall. With a flash of blue light from his scepter, it splintered into small fragments before it even reached Stark. Stark just smiled, but Loki saw the fear in his eyes.

"You're of no use to me," Loki said, leisurely walking forward. "I can't control you, I can't manipulate you. This would be a lot easier if you were dead."

"Yeah, well, I don't die that easily."

"Oh, really?" Loki felt the power surge within his scepter and fired blue energy towards Stark. It surrounded him with a fiery blue light, but couldn't seem to touch him. Stark reached down and retrieved a small red sphere from his pocket.

"Do you like it? It's just the prototype," Stark said smugly. "And… It can also do this." He tossed the orb and it landed at Loki's feet, where it beeped sharply before exploding. Loki felt himself tossed in the air before falling. Except he wasn't falling down.

His scepter seemed to be pulling him upwards, towards the sky. Or maybe Loki was just disoriented. He tightened his grip on his scepter and felt himself ascending. The scepter seemed to be attracted like a magnet to something on the roof. He made a safe landing on top of Stark Tower, though his scepter was still pulling him towards the center of the roof.

At first Loki saw nothing, but as he concentrated, he sensed a pulsing energy in front of him. He couldn't exactly see it, but he knew where it was instinctively. It was almost reflex to swipe his scepter and absorb the energy with it. He felt the power surge through him, and suddenly his goal seemed more real than ever before. But this wouldn't be enough. This was just a fraction of the energy he needed for the weapons he needed to win the throne Asgard. Oh, how he had wished that all of the energy would have remained on the roof, but no. It had been scattered in his absence. And now he had to find the rest.

But now he felt unbelievably more power in his scepter. The pull he had felt earlier seemed to have remained, if considerably less powerful. And now it seemed to be pulling him in another direction. He realized with satisfaction that he now had a way to locate the rest of the residual energy left by the Tesseract. He hoped that Stark thought he had fallen to his death, but the lack of a corpse would seem to point to his escape. Either way, he was no longer in any immediate danger. There didn't seem to be an obvious way to get off the roof, though.

Loki looked around him, and wondered if Stark would notice him taking the elevator again. He decided to simply hide himself in an illusion and exit in the same way that he came. There was no point in overcomplicating things.

As Loki walked down the street, away from Stark Tower, his mind wandered to Thor. Where was he? Had he escaped from the mortals yet? He must have, as Shield would be alerted to his presence as soon as it was realized. Now there was probably an invisible airplane somewhere above his head. Great.

The last time he came to this planet, getting captured by Shield had worked to his advantage. This time he was unsure if that could help, but perhaps it could be worked into his schedule if necessary. For the moment, he would try to avoid Shield if at all possible.

Loki had been absentmindedly been navigating the streets towards where more of the Tesseract's energy could be found. Soon he rounded a corner and saw the place where he had last left Earth, a prisoner. But soon he would be a king. The rightful king of Asgard. He envisioned himself upon the throne with Thor at his feet. So caught up was he in his fantasy, he did not notice the figure that stood before him. At least, not until he was shot.

**Once again, sorry for the short length and bad quality of this chapter! There will be a better one Monday! Reviews are very much appreciated! **


	6. The Darkness

**Hi guys :) Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's longer and (I think) better written than the last one. Please remember that I do not own any characters or ideas from Thor or The Avengers! Also, I would like to let you guys know that I will be unable to post a chapter this Friday, due to having guests. **Loki turned, hiding his surprise. The bullet had bounced harmlessly off his cheek. In front of him stood Agent Natasha Romanoff of S.H.E.I.L.D., her gun leveled at his head. _As if that were threatening, _Loki thought with a smile. "Sir, we found him," she said, speaking to her hand-held radio device. Natasha proceeded to give his location to whomever was at the other end of the intercom.

"I'll be just as dangerous as a prisoner. Surely you know that by now. And…" Loki advanced menacingly, "…what do you think they'll say when they come to find you dead?" He swung his scepter in a maneuver that would have taken off Agent Romanoff's head had she not been so quick. She dodged strike after strike, firing bullets harmlessly in Loki's direction. There were no mortals around to get hurt, but Loki suspected the gunshots would draw them like flies.

Eventually Agent Romanoff momentarily lost her footing and stumbled. Loki took the opportunity and leaped forward, his scepter raised above his head, ready to strike. He savored the look of defeat on Agent Romanoff's face before bringing his scepter down towards her skull. But before the blade could touch her skin, the world around him began to peel away to reveal a darkness so black that it seemed it would swallow him. Loki froze in shock. He looked around him and saw nothing, above him he saw nothing, below him he saw nothing. There was absolutely nothing except for a darkness so thick that he could almost feel it. But then, all around him, he heard a faint, indistinguishable whispering. It was the sound of voices speaking in some unknown tongue, but even though he did not know the words, Loki knew the feeling of hopelessness that came with them. And all around him, there was something _moving._

He did not know the emotion that consumed him then. It was a feeling unlike any he had known before, it was something _beyond_ fear. He heard a scream so loud that it sent shivers down his spine, and realized in terror that it was his own. Tears were streaming down his face, but he was too consumed by fear to be ashamed. He could not think of anything else. He got to his feet and ran through the blackness, unsure of where he was going. He did not care. Just _away._

He could not tell how long he ran before he collapsed, sobbing. The feeling had not left him. The creature in the darkness had not left him either. It seemed that hours passed. Days. Months. Years. It wasn't that the terror began to fade away, more that Loki began to become more aware of his surroundings. And once he had, he wished he hadn't.

He could feel that the lost voices now had bodies, and the more that his fear consumed him, the more they seems to grow in numbers. Or maybe it was the other way around. He felt them _crawl_ over him, writhing creatures that clawed at his flesh, at his hair, at his eyes. And then, the creature hidden in the darkness was no longer hidden. Its body looked vaguely like that of a human, but it was so mangled that it might once have been anything. Long, deep gashes were present on nearly every available patch of skin, and where they were not, the creature's skin seemed to be burning away before Loki's eyes. It smiled through mutilated lips and laughed with a voice that would have made even the bravest of soldiers cower in fear. And then slowly, terrifyingly, it opened one emerald green eye.

And then it spoke. Its voice echoed through the darkness and seemed to reach deep into Loki's heart with claws of ice. "I am anguish, loss, and grief. I am fury, rage, and darkness. I am desolation, I am misery. I am the monster in your mind. I am the whisperer in your ear. I am the fire in your heart. You are small in the scheme of the universe. Your life is a mere heartbeat in the never ending expanse of time. One day you will be but a story that no one cares to remember. I can see all that is, all that was, all that will be. I look into your mind and see pain. I see fear. I see rage. But you are tiny. I am forever."

And then Loki was falling. Falling, falling through endless darkness. The wind snatched the scream from his open lips, and he flailed his arms around him hopelessly, looking for something, _anything,_ to stop his plummet. Far below him he saw no ground, only darkness that seemed to stretch on forever. And then, bit by bit, the world began to piece itself together. He found himself lying on the pavement, drenched in a cold sweat. Earth had never before looked as beautiful or inviting as it did then.

Relief flooded through him, and the fear of that dark place was simply a memory that Loki would rather suppress. But the one thing that Loki could not shake from his mind was the creature's voice. He remembered it so clearly that it almost made him scream. But he did not.

Above him he saw a silvery crescent moon in a night sky without stars. He remembered dimly that when he had been taken the sun had been high in the sky. _How much time has passed? _he wondered. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a trash bin with a newspaper in it. He scrambled to his feet and grabbed it, staring down at the cover in shock. If the newspaper was from that day, he had been gone five days.

There was not much on this mortal world that could scare Loki, but now he was. On unsteady feet he stumbled towards where the Tesseract's energy remained, and absorbed in his scepter. He felt strength flow through him, and found that he could stand once more. He was now a fraction of the way closer to becoming the king of Asgard.

In dismay, he realized that he could no longer sense the location of the Tesseract's energy. He had no idea where he was going as he walked down the streets of New York. As he walked, he remembered. He heard the whispering voices in his head, the memory so strong that he felt as though the voices must be all around him. He stopped suddenly. They were.

The creatures that the voices belonged to were not visible, but he heard the whispers of fear and agony all around him. Terror clawed at his mind and he fell to his knees. A figure stood before him, in the shadows. "You thought you had escaped me," it grinned. Loki thought he had remembered its voice. He was wrong. It was much, much worse. "But you will never escape me. I am always behind you… A memory. A _shadow._" Then it vanished, taking the lost voices with it. As the creature disappeared, its voice left him one last message. It seemed to emanate from the ground around him. "And you can't kill a shadow."

He heard footsteps behind him, but he could not bring himself to turn his head. All he could do was sit on the pavement, shivering in fear. He heard Thor's voice speaking into a radio, but he did not move. "I've found him… There seems to be something wrong with him," Thor said to the radio. S.H.E.I.L.D.'s aircraft materialized above their heads, and Thor grabbed Loki with one arm. Thor used Mjolnir to fly them both up to the plane. About halfway up, Loki fainted in fear and exhaustion.

**Thanks for reading! Reviews would mean a lot to me! I hope you enjoyed!**


	7. Dreaming

**Hi guys! I hope you are having a lovely Monday! (Or whatever day you are reading this on). I apologize if Loki & Thor are a bit out of character in the beginning of this chapter. Oh, and by the way, something I haven't said for a few chapters: I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS! Sorry for the all caps, but I guess that makes up for all the times I forgot to mention it (though it is rather obvious). **

Loki woke up in a glass cell. It was not the same one he had been in last time. This one was at the end of a long hallway, and did not seem to have any exits. For a blessed moment he could not remember why he was there. But all too soon, the memories of the darkness and the whispers came flooding back into his mind. He looked frantically around him, half expecting to see the creature of the darkness standing before him. But he did not.

Loki whirled around when he heard a voice behind him, but sighed in relief when he saw that it was Thor. Annoyance flooded through him when he saw the look of concern on Thor's face. Thor began to speak. "Loki, why are you doing this? Why have you changed so?"

"Like you care."

"You know that I do."

"If you cared, you would have known long ago that I was _always _this way."

"Brother, I care for you more than you have led yourself to believe. And I know that you have _not._"

"Oh, but that's not true, is it? You question yourself even now. And you _worry _that you might have missed something, that you had the opportunity to change me and did not take it."

Thor's eyes would not meet Loki's, and Loki knew he had spoken the truth. Apparently, Thor saw it fit to change the subject. "When I found you, you were having some sort of fit. Brother… are you alright?"

The memory renewed Loki's fear, and he knew that it showed on his face. He hastily put on a false look of calm, and turned away, not trusting himself to answer without his voice shaking. Thor seemed to take this as answer enough. "Brother-"

Loki's fear turned to anger as he heard that title for the second time. At this point, his response was almost reflex. "How many times must I tell you before your ignorant brain comprehends me?! I am not your brother!"

Thor began to walk away. "It is clear that I can say nothing to change your mind about that. But the same goes for me. You will always be my brother." And with that, Thor disappeared around the corner, and Loki retreated to the back of his cell.

It was many hours before Loki drifted into sleep. His dreams were meaningless images of his childhood, long forgotten. First he was with Thor in the palace on Asgard, showing off how he could make the water in a cup freeze. The young Thor looked on in envy as Loki took the ice in his hands, and shaped the ice into a small figure of a horse. With a smile, Loki offered it to Thor, who took it in his hand. Loki unfroze the ice while Thor was admiring it, and burst into fits of laughter at Thor's startled expression.

In the next dream, he was alone in his chambers. He was not much older than he had been in the first dream. He was bent over his desk, his hand stretched out in front of him. He was trying to cast an illusion upon himself, wishing to appear to hold a dagger. A real one sat beside him so that he knew exactly what it should look like. He had read (which he did a lot at that age) that his illusion would be stronger if he was very familiar with what he was trying to project. After focusing for quite some time, he had achieved nothing. Just then, Frigga knocked on the door. After quickly hiding the real weapon, he told her that she could enter. "Loki," she said, "one of the guards is missing his dagger. You wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?"

He was older in the next dream, but not by very much. He was in a forest not far from the palace, accompanied by Thor, Sif, Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun. It was then that Loki had the idea that they should play hide and seek. Sif turned to Loki with a sneer and said "Loki, you should be 'it,' because you're absolutely terrible at hiding!" The Warriors Three chuckled in agreement. Loki felt himself blush in embarrassment. He could feel tears collecting in his eyes, and blinked hurriedly so that they would not have the chance to fall. The only one not laughing was Thor, who spoke up.

"Sif, if you are so sure that Loki cannot hide, why don't you be 'it' and prove yourself correct?" Of course, Sif could not say no to Thor's challenge, so she reluctantly agreed. Loki gave Thor a grateful look before running off to hide. Loki concealed himself inside a bush, but soon realized that he was far too visible from the outside. He was about to find a new place to hide when he heard a twig snap. His head whipped around and he saw Sif walking nearby. She was going to see him, and then he would never hear the end of the teasing. He was scared and embarrassed, and now more determined than ever to stay hidden. He remembered that time not so long ago when he had attempted to learn the art of using illusions, and willed with all his energy and concentration to become invisible. He looked down at himself and was shocked to see nothing there. _It worked! _Sif passed by, none the wiser of his location. Throughout the hours that followed, Thor, Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun were found, but not Loki. The third time they passed where he hid, he got up and followed them invisibly. Not long afterwards, the children decided that they should return to the castle and tell Frigga that Loki was missing.

Thor fidgeted uncomfortably while telling his mother what had happened. Together, they all walked down to where Heimdall stood at the observatory, Loki, still hidden, following behind. When Heimdall was asked where Loki was, he simply grinned in amusement and looked directly at Loki, who was still invisible. Loki materialized, to the extreme shock of his friends and mother. "Hello," he said cheekily. "Did you miss me?"

In his next dream, Loki was in a meadow beside the forest. He stood, fully grown, in front of a young Thor. Beside him stood a younger version of himself. Loki, this time, would be an observer. The young Loki and Thor were having an argument over some long forgotten pointless matter, when out of nowhere they heard a crashing in the trees beside them, followed by a tremendous roar. A huge, scaly monster with enormous horns came crashing out of the trees. _A bilgesnipe. _Loki remembered that day well. He and Thor had run to the castle, and despite a number of trampled fields, the warriors of Asgard had slain the beast without a problem. Loki watched the two young children in the meadow, waiting for Thor's cry of _"Loki, run!"_ It did not come. Instead, the beast charged into the field and tossed Thor high into the air. With a sickening crunch of snapping bones, Thor lay, dead, at the edge of the trees. "Thor!" the young Loki screamed, rushing over to his brother's body. The bilgesnipe charged towards the young Loki next, who screamed as he was flung through the air like Thor, landing in front of the adult Loki. He gazed in shock at his own broken body before him. Then, the world began to dissolve around him, revealing darkness.

_NO! Not again! Not now! _Thought Loki in fear. He whipped around when the voice of the creature of the darkness spoke behind him.

"You should thank me," it said with a smile. "I have given you a purpose in the universe – my entertainment. I've let you out of your little cell, by the way. What use is my plaything if it is locked up? No, that's no fun at all. It gets so _boring_."

If anything, the creature's appearance seemed worse than before. In places the flesh had fallen away completely to reveal bone. Loki shuddered.

"All those petty mortals, obsessed with their longevities. Obsessed with chasing life's fleeting moments, when they know that it will all be for naught in the end. I suppose I'll send you back now…" And with a wave of its hand, the world began to reform.

"And, if you die now… Make it entertaining. And then, perhaps, I'll let you stay here as my entertainment for eternity. Wouldn't that be _fun! _We are both _monsters, _after all."

**Thanks for reading! I have an important question for you guys: Would you prefer for this story to continue being about Loki trying to reclaim Asgard (100% evil) or would you like him to join forces with the Avengers to combat a greater threat? (Which I bet you know what is by now). If I don't get any responses to this question (which is what will probably happen) I will choose myself (I already know what I would prefer, but I don't want to influence your decisions.)**


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